Guardrail clamp



Sept. '18, 1945. H. R. AKERs GUARD RAIL CLAMP Filed Jan. 2v, 1944 Patented Sept. 18, 1945 i' UNITED? ST1-ATTISIS,r f ICjl-.,4

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GUARDRML l l Harrison R. kersf'l'yll'rf^l l Application: January' 27, 19445v serial No;` 5195849:z

rola-rms; (Grassi-17)) This Y-inventionrrelates to railway equipmentland"l it; has particular reference. to.l certain newand. useful improvements in clamps for: guardrails.V rl

The. principalobjectsf of the invention arelto: provide ina guard rail clamp: means for-positively holding the guardi raily against; accidental.- displacement yet allowingf for norrnaicontraction:

and'fexpan'sionf of the-adjacent traili'c rail- ;r i-nearis adapted to yieldQvto o'scillative movements ofcthe. clampproper: as caused.' by. the contractivei and'. expansivemovementsof thetracvrail; meansifor: maintaining at minimumfcost4 and laborprede' termined spacing betweenethetraiiic rail and-.at tendant guard rail to compensate for angefwe'ar; and likelihood of damage: to the; points: of; the` switch'frog on the opposite side ofithe trackyandl. as a means providingfat once, a rerailing; frog; a protection against-dragging brakelrods'andirigfging, -a guard against damage to. crossingfvehicle tires and for the generalimprovement inaappear' ance, the inventionJaords inclined' housings ern-l bracing all proj eating'`- elements-of the assemblyc that the guardj railbe' corlrespondirigly-A leent:`v

workmanwithout dislocating the guard lraili With the foregoing objectsv asi paramount.; that invention has further'referencato certairn fea-furezl'wherein numeral IDidenotesa length of! tra-fallel relationship with the traiiicY rail-y l' in. such` manner thatzn'oiintendedlyfpermanentparts; such as: spikes; i lare required to: be removed to: effectadjustm'ent orreplacementl These elements con-- sist.primarilyioiacurved cLshaped.yoke` I-whose body,` lesl beneath. and spansL the rails= lili andi' LI; andi whose: inwardly. turned' ends confronttheouterxflangeiaces of tlieseirails. Oneencllof` the' yoke I21isobliq'uel;7 cut ata; (Figure 1) andbears against'. a; correspondingly' inclined surface' of-Y a` wedg'eikey= |23;interposedibetweenthe end (JL-ofthe yokeandi the ila'nge'oi?y the guard rail- ISIS.

The opposite'endoff the yokel |2-is-4 curved atl` b inf a: plane: atrightiangles'to the longitudinal? axis off.' thev yokel` body? and lies ina` correspondingly 20 curvi'e'd*socket` orrecess-1 formed inithe: face of? tures of' accomplishment which' i will beconieii ap;l

parent as the description proceeds,- takemincon-f nectionwith the accompanying-v drawin'g. wherein-t' AFigure 1 is a plan view ofla section of traffic rail-'With the guard railattached.:icy.y means .of the present invention. f

Figure 2is aviewin' transversalsectiongftakeni-.s

ofthetralc-rail brokenlawamf Figure 5fis a detail:viewermeurtheturmcu-` the Vtrame and=guardrailsgfslfiowingl appurtenances including rerailment'yfrogs; equipment guardssan housings: u Y 'Continuing with'A at more detailedr description-v atakei-upbloek M2 interposed between'v this f end'- ofthe'yokef-li andlwthe-outer-face of the flange ofthetracraill. y n i A It isapparent from-tho:foregoingthat creeping ci"I ,thei t'r'aiicA rail as'l ai yresult4 of expansion'l andr cor1tractioninl hot and-cold' weather or lovvibrationwi-lb be: compensat'edf fr; invieW off the provisionf'o'r -l-imitedoscillation atthe p'oint'bgwhich is; in eictfa pivotalpointkallowingithaend ofi the yoke adiacent@ tlie -traiic raill toniove- With the'railwlile theopposite endre'niains stationary; W-itl the-result-ftliat theguardlrail lil willbelh'eldl against movement. f-

Lying betweemtheutraic frail and:V guardi rail is; apair ci7 compleinenta'rly-'Yspacing blocks IIE-:Whose co'nrontingfsides'f are' no't-` only tapered' at. c' buti are-interlockingi'lcvvirtuel of:v the tongue and groove d #(Figures 2'land 3 L Obviously.;v the` taper or Wed'g -ef'fc'tWillincreasevon decreasethe width: offthe'l spacel betweenitherailsuponl movement in'v tongue and-fgroovefwi11 preclude any possibility' of relative vertical displacement of the blocks..

Each ofA the1bloclsl5fhasla; shank'fin the: form offtheguard-rail; a'sfshoWnE` Thetum-outniiribiocksz |12,- onefor which isv n showninldetailinzFigureL-; each consist: cfa .body shaped t0 conform .toi-the space-i between therrails the' drawing refrerice'isl primarilvV maden'tor-Figal iii 'atftheL turn-out.:andahaving aatransverse flanged-8 mediate its ends.

beneath the outer or wide end, apertured at I9 (Figure to receive the threaded end of a rod I6. The opposite or narrow ends of the blocks I I are transversely slotted at 20 to accommodate bolts 2|, which extend from one to the other of the rails, holding the turn-out ends of the guard rail in strict parallelism with the traillc rail.

Returning to the guard rail clamp proper, it will be observed, especially in Figure 1 that the wedge block I3 against which the obliqueend a. of the yoke I2 bears, is provided with an ear 22 adjacent the larger end thereof. This ear is apertured to correspond with an opening in the bend of they jj yoke and a bolt 23 is passed through the aperture bolt and a nut 25 bears on, the springftherebyI l holding the yoke and block I3 insecure relationship, yet allowing for a limited degree of movement under tension. A lock washer 26 is also IB of the spacer blocks I 5- in advanceV of the nuts 2l thereon.

One of the spacer blocks I5, asi-apparent.'in`

Figures 2 and 3, is provided `with downwardly de pending lugs 28 which straddle the yoke I2 vinter- These lugs maintainV assembled relationship of the blocks and. yoke, prevent'- parallel relationship with the traic raill I0 and the yoke I2 is Passed transversely under the rails with its ends in confronting relation to the outer faces of the rail flanges. The pivot block I4 is set in position with the arcuate end of the Vyokeresting in the conformably shaped recess* therein.

The wedge block I3 is thrustbetween the oblique end of'the'yoke and the ange of'thegua-rd-Taile and the bolt 23 is passed through theape'rturesofV the ear 22 andyoke. l y Y,

BeforeA tightening the bolt 23 however; the spacer blocks I5 are-positioned between therails IB and I I in the manner shown withtheir Shanks I6 extending towards the'endsof the-guard rail.'v

The turn-out blocks I'I are'then -place'd between the turn-outs and the trafclrail -soqthatther shanks I6 will pass through the apertures I9 inthew v disposed on the end ,ofeach of the Shanks. ory rods blocks I'I. vWhen the rturn-out blocks are so posi-r tioned'as to properlyv spacethe rails, vnutsg2l are;

set and the wedge block or key I3 is tightened by drawingup the bolt 23. Afterwards, the turn-out blocks are driven uptight and nutsZ'I arermly I3, spacer blocks I5 and turn-out blocks I'I, positively secure Vtherails against accidental displacement, although it is apparent that longitudinal movement of the tralic rail is still permitted by virtue of thepivot block I4 withoutmovingthe guard railI I.

Should it become necessary to move the guard rail II closer to the traffic rail Il) to-compensate for wear onv the'ballr of-the'guard rail,'the bolt 23 of the wedge key I3 is loosenedas well as the' nuts 21 of the shanks Ifli.V The turn-out blocks are moved outward and the spacer-b1ocksI5 are adjusted by forcing the shanks AIjI inwardlyi When proper spacing of the rails isthusjaccornplished,

the wedge key I3 is thrust further under the end of the yoke I2 to take upthe slack, after which the'nut 25 is tightened on bolt 23.; l f

Itis apparent from the' foregoing that justments and even the initial installation on guard rail replacements can be accomplished by a single trackman with a track wrench in but a short period of time. Moreover, a feature of importance lies in the fact that unlike conventional types of guard rail clamps, the present invention enables a guard rail to be placed on a curve in the trafc rail by virtue of the special shape of the turn-out blocks I1.

Also, minute spacing of the rails is possible by reason of Athe inclined conforming faces of the spacer blocks I5 and the positive means of securement thereof.

, Shown in Figure 6 is a rerailing frog 29 one of which is'disposed at each end of the guard rail I I. This frog consists of a body of a length equal to the width between the rails I0 and I I, one side of 4which is ush with the wide end of the turnout blocks I'I and curves downwardly towards the opposite edge, thus presenting a surface upon which the flange of a derailed wheel may ride to resume-its position on the ball of the traic rail I0.v It will be observed that theend of the body 29 next adjacent to the tralc'rail is in no way secured to the rail, but is, in fact positioned so that the end'of the guard rail will abut thereagainst. This arrangement provides for the usual expansive and contractive movements of the traflc rail but prevents movement ofthe guard rail. It Will be observed that the outer end of the body 29 has a curved protuberance 30' rising into alignment` city street and has the added utilitarian featureA of protecting vehicle tires form injury Von th otherwise sharp ends of the guard rail.V i

In addition t0 the rerailing frog 29, the invention provides symmetrically shaped housings 3|, one concealing they pivot end of theyoke I2 while theV other, similarly' shaped, covers'the wedged end of the yoke. The curved or inclined exteriors of these housingsimproves'the'appearance of theA installation aswell as protecting the tires of vehicles passing thereover. They are so mounted as to be readily removed when adjustments inV the spacing of the rails are needed andadd little to the cost of the assembly.`

Manifestly, the construction and process.A as shown and described isv 'capable of some modiflcation and such modification as may Abe'construed to fall Withinthe scope` and meaning of the appended claims Vis also considered to be Within the spirit and intent-of the invention.`A Y

What is claimed is:

l1. In combination with relativelyl perellel guard turnout and traiiic rails, vaguard-railclamp including a' C-yoke transversely underelying said rails, whose inwardly turned ends confront-the Y outer web faces of said rails; oneV ofsaid ends being inclined with respect'to the'a'djacentrail Y web and the other end arcuated, a wedge cooperating with said inclined yoke 'end jtogeffect end wise displacement of said wedge; af pivotv space block interposed between .the arcuated'end-of` said yoke'and the adjacent rail webvand-having a recess correspondingly'receiving saidarcuated end forlimitedoscillation, cooperative eX--H panding wedge blocks interposed between said-r rails intermediate the ends of--said yoke-having oppositely extending Shanks, turn-out blocks oneach side of said wedge blocks having Wedging engagement between confronting sides of said turnout and trac rails and apertured to receive said shanks and means on .the ends of said shanks for actuating said wedge blocks.

2. In combination with a trac rail and a relatively parallel guard rail, a guard rail clamp comprising a yoke underlying said rails in transverse relationship and having inwardly turned ends, means interposed between one of said ends and an adjacent rail web for changing the relative spacing of said rails, means between the opposite end of said yoke and the opposite rail web for retaining said yoke for limited oscillatingmovement, cooperating means intermediate said n rails adjacent said yoke for imposing a we dging action on said rails, integral shanks carried by said cooperating means and spacing means on each side of said cooperating means having Wedging engagement with confronting sides of said traffic and guard rails and adapted to receive said shanks and through which relative spacing of said rails is effected and maintained.

3. A guard rail clamp including a c-shaped yoke, one end of which confronts the outer web face of said guard rail, the other end confronting the outer web face of a relatively parallel traffic rail, means Afor imposing a wedging action between one end of said yoke and an adjacent rail, means oscillatably retaining the opposite end of said yoke against the companion rail, correspondingly inclined wedge blocks interposed between said rails having oppositely extending shanks, turn-out blocks wedgingly held between confronting sides of said rails at the ends of said guard rail and receiving said shanks and means for eecting longitudinal movement of said shanks to effect displacement of said turnout blocks, wedge blocks and yoke to change the relative spacing of said rails.

4. In a guard rail clamp, a C-shaped member adapted to underlie a guard rail and a relatively parallel trac rail, means to exert a wedging action between one end of said yoke, and the outer face of an adjacent rail means holding one end of said yoke for limited oscillating movement to compensate for movement of said traffic rail, cooperating means intermediate said rails for imposing a wedging action thereon to compensate for variations in the relative spacing thereof, shanks carried by and extending in opposite directions from said latter means, and means also held in wedging engagement with and `intermediate said rails and spaced from said cooperating means and adapted to receive said shanks to eiect actuation of said cooperating means preparatory to changing the relative spacing oi said rails.

5. A guard rail clamp including in combination with a guard rail and trailic rail, means ad-` justablyv holding said rails in spaced relationship for limited longitudinal displacement, wedge blocks intermediate said rails having cooperatively inclined confronting faces and provided with opposi-tely extending shanks, space blocks in wedging engagement between said rails at each end of said guard rail and apertured to receive said shanks and means carried by the ends.

of the latter for changing the relative positions of said wedge blocks preparatory to adjusting the relative spacing of said rails.

6. A guard rail clamp including in combination with a guard rail and a trafiic rail, means adjustably holding said rails in spaced relationship, complementary wedge members interposed between said rails and having oppositely extending shanks, space blocks wedged between said guard and traffic rails and disposed on each side of said wedge members and through which said shanks movably extend and means adjustably carried by the end of said shanks for changing the positions of said wedge members in corresponding relation to changes effected in the relative positions of said yoke and space blocks preparatory to adjusting the relative spacing of said rails.

7. A guard rail clamp including in combination with a guard rail and the traffic rail to which it is attached, a C-yoke underlying said rails a wedge interposed between one end of said yoke and an adjacent rail, the other end of said yoke being in oscillatable engagement with the companion rail, cooperating wedge means intermediate said rails having lthreaded shanks, space blocks wedged between said guard and traiic rails in opposing relationship with said wedge means and receiving said shanks and means carried by said shanks for displacing said wedge means in corresponding relation to changes made in the positions of said yoke and space blocks preparatory to varying the relative spacing of said rails.

HARRISON R. AKERS. 

